Duke vs. UNC score, takeaways: Harrison Ingram leads No. 3 Tar Heels to rivalry win vs. No. 7 Blue Devils

Ingram and Armando Bacot combined for 46 points as UNC snapped a two-game losing streak vs. Duke

No. 3 North Carolina trailed No. 7 Duke 2-0 and never trailed again Saturday as it rode a high-octane offensive outing to a 93-84 win over the Blue Devils inside the Dean Smith Center. UNC's frontcourt tandem of Armando Bacot (25 points) and Harrison Ingram (21 points) led the Tar Heels (18-4, 10-1 ACC), who pushed their lead in the ACC standings to two games.

Duke countered with a solid offensive performance of its own behind big nights from the trio of Jeremy Roach, Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski, who combined for 65 points. But the Blue Devils (16-5, 7-3) failed to match North Carolina in points off turnovers (19-7) and couldn't find a rhythm from beyond the arc.

North Carolina pushed its lead to 63-48 on an Ingram jumper with 13:16 remaining before Duke called timeout and responded with a quick 7-2 spurt. The Blue Devils eventually cut the deficit to single digits on a few occasions. But UNC provided an answer for each push. The ACC's leading scorer, RJ Davis, provided a dagger of a 3-pointer with 2:34 remaining to push the UNC edge to 85-72. From there, the Tar Heels iced it at the free-throw line.

— Bacot's 25 points were his most in a game since scoring 25 against Radford in the season opener.

— Ingram made a career-high five 3-pointers for North Carolina.

— The Tar Heels are now 25-24 in games against Duke when both are top-10 teams.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 9:15 pm ET · David Cobb]

Harrison Ingram goes off

Ingram has taken his game to new heights this season after two years at Stanford, and his improvement was on full display against the Blue Devils. The former five-star prospect from the Class of 2021 was effective in two seasons for the Cardinal, earning Pac-12 Rookie of the Year honors in the 2021-22 season. But he was only a 31.6% 3-point shooter during his stint in the Pac-12. In UNC's up-tempo system, the 6-foot-8 forward entered Saturday's game hitting 40% of his shots from beyond the arc.

That percentage is only going up after he drilled 5 of 9 against Duke. But Ingram also flashed his prowess in the mid-range and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double as a Tar Heel. When UNC made an improbable Final Four run in 2022, Brady Manek was essential to the effort as a transfer power forward with a sweet shooting stroke. Ingram is fitting that description awfully well this season. As big as his shooting was against Duke, his best play may have been this offensive rebound, which led to a 3-pointer from Cormac Ryan that extended UNC's lead to 77-64 with 6:02 remaining.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 9:13 pm ET · David Cobb]

Duke's downfall

Quality outside shooting has been integral to the Blue Devils' success, as they entered ranked No. 15 nationally in 3-point percentage at 38.7%. In ACC action, that mark was up to 40.3%. Duke had made between 8 and 11 3-pointers in each of its last nine games entering Saturday, never shooting worse than 30.8% from beyond the arc during the stretch. Against North Carolina, it made just 5 of 19 from 3-point range and only 2 of 11 in the second half.

The Blue Devils also failed to reach the free-throw line in the first half. Those offensive factors, combined with a lackluster defensive effort explain why Duke could never get within two possessions in the second half.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 9:12 pm ET · David Cobb]

One-seed validation

North Carolina edged Kansas for the final No. 1 seed in Jerry Palm's Bracketology entering the weekend. The Jayhawks responded by crushing fellow projected No. 1 seed Houston 78-65 earlier in the day. But the Tar Heels showed why they may have some staying power on the top line with their own convincing victory against a top-10 foe.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 8:46 pm ET · David Cobb]

North Carolina closes it out

Final: North Carolina 93, Duke 84

North Carolina got 46 points from Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram as it kept Duke at arm's length for most of the game in an impressive offensive showing. UNC committed just five turnovers and never let the Blue Devils get closer than 7 points in the second half. The win pushes their edge in the ACC standings to two games.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 8:40 pm ET · David Cobb]

Duke not done

RJ Davis was whistled for a hook and hold on a rebounding sequence as he got tied up with Kyle Filipowski. That opens the door for Duke, which is trailing 88-79 with 43 seconds remaining. Davis was clocked in the face during the play, which gives life to the Blue Devils.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 8:24 pm ET · David Cobb]

North Carolina on the brink

It's 82-69 North Carolina with 3:11 remaining. Duke cut it to 8 on a pair of occasions, but the Tar Heels have provided an answer for every push. Armando Bacot has a double-double with 23 points. He and Ingram are a combined 17 of 24 from the floor. UNC is on the brink of a momentous victory as Duke continues to struggle for answers defensively.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 8:12 pm ET · David Cobb]

Blue Devils in striking distance

6:54: UNC 72, Duke 64

Armando Bacot will be at the free-throw line after the u8 timeout with a chance to push UNC's lead back to 10 points after Duke cut it to single-digits on a mid-range jumper from Jeremy Roach. He's got 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting. The Blue Devils have made just 4 of 14 attempts from beyond the arc but are one or two 3-pointers away from making this real interesting down the stretch.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 8:03 pm ET · David Cobb]

Duke finds some life

Duke is now down just 10 as the Blue Devils find a flow offensively. The problem is that they can't get enough stops. Seth Trimble is up to 8 points off the bench for UNC. Of note: Kyle Filipowski just picked up his third foul to trigger the u12 media timeout with UNC leading 69-59. 9:35 remaining.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 7:56 pm ET · David Cobb]

Danger zone for Duke

Duke is in dangerous territory here as Jon Scheyer calls a timeout with 13:07 remaining and the Blue Devils trailing 63-48. The Tar Heels are getting quality looks on nearly every possession, and Harrison Ingram is showing why he was a five-star prospect. Jared McCain is up to 15 for the Blue Devils, but he's not getting enough help as Duke tries to fend off the UNC barrage.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 7:51 pm ET · David Cobb]

Chippy moment

There was a chippy moment between Harrison Ingram and Kyle Filipowski going to the under-16 timeout. They got tangled up and exchanged some words before being separated. The officials reviewed the sequence at the monitor, but there was nothing there warranting action. Nonetheless, tensions are on the rise as North Carolina attempts to stretch this thing out.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 7:48 pm ET · David Cobb]

Terrific tandem

North Carolina's frontcourt tandem of Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram has combined for 35 of the team's 57 points and is on fire to start the second half with all 12 of the Tar Heels' points thus far on a combined 4 of 4 shooting. Duke is hanging in there, but UNC must feel great about leading by 11 at the u16 timeout on a night when RJ Davis has just four points.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 7:43 pm ET · David Cobb]

Harrison Ingram blossoming

After shooting 31.6% from 3-point range in two seasons at Stanford, Harrison Ingram has blossomed this season at North Carolina. He was shooting 40% from beyond the arc entering the game and is 4 of 7 from downtown today. The former five-star prospect seems to be a much better fit in the up-tempo UNC system and remains a force on the boards at 6-foot-8.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 7:35 pm ET · David Cobb]

Second half keys

Duke's defense fell flat in the first half as the Blue Devils forced just one turnover. Jon Scheyer made need to contemplate junking things up a bit with a zone look or something to get UNC out of rhythm. The Blue Devils shot reasonably well (47.1%) in the first half, but they won't get back into this game unless they start getting more stops. The Blue Devils also need to be more aggressive attacking the basket after they didn't attempt a single free throw in the first half.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 7:22 pm ET · David Cobb]

North Carolina takes momentum to the locker room

Half: UNC 45, Duke 35

No. 3 North Carolina used a 12-3 edge in fast-break points and a 10-0 advantage in points off turnovers to build a 45-35 halftime advantage on No. 7 Duke in the first meeting of the season between the bitter rivals. Armando Bacot led the Tar Heels with 12 points while Harrison Ingram contributed 11 as UNC forced the game to a frenetic pace against the more methodical Blue Devils.

Jeremy Roach led Duke with 10 points and played the final two minutes of the second half with two fouls as coach Jon Scheyer tried to keep the Tar Heels from extending their lead. But it was a fruitless endeavor as UNC rode the energy of a sold-out home crowd while shooting 51.4% from the floor. North Carolina's 45 points were the most Duke has allowed in the first half of a game this season.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 7:11 pm ET · David Cobb]

UNC up 6 as Roach exits

It's 34-28 UNC at the under-four timeout. Bacot did return after he was in pain earlier in the half. Duke point guard Jeremy Roach picked up his second foul at the 4:40 mark and went to the bench. That's a big deal considering he's got 10 early points and is the leader of this team. Will Jon Scheyer chance it and bring him back in for the final stretch of the half? Caleb Foster has been playing with two for the Blue Devils, but it wouldn't be so catastrophic if he picked up his third.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 7:03 pm ET · David Cobb]

Something to monitor on Bacot

Armando Bacot started strong but was playing through pain. His status will be something to keep an eye on moving forward.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 6:57 pm ET · David Cobb]

Duke settles in as pace stays high

The officials have been swallowing their whistles early and letting this game develop a high-intensity organic flow. It has made for a wildly entertaining start as we just barreled through the under 12 media timeout window with several minutes of continuous action without a dead ball. Jeremy Roach drilled two 3-pointers during the sequence and Armando Bacot is delivering thus far with 8 points.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 6:46 pm ET · David Cobb]

UNC thriving in transition

It's 13-8 UNC at the under 16 timeout. North Carolina is RUNNING early, getting out in transition and pulling the trigger when it gets good looks. Cormac Ryan airballed one from the right corner but reloaded from the exact same spot shortly thereafter and hit nothing but net. Duke did well to weather the storm after falling behind 10-4 early, but the Tar Heels are setting the pace.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 6:42 pm ET · David Cobb]

Jeremy Roach grabs elbow

Jeremy Roach just went soaring on a pump fake from Cormac Ryan and took a hard spill as he toppled to floor. He was looking at his elbow as he got up. He stayed in the game, but that could be something to watch as the game moves. Roach has been banged up this season.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 6:33 pm ET · David Cobb]

Duke vs. North Carolina starting lineups

Duke: Jared McCain, Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell, Kyle Filipowski.

North Carolina: Elliot Cadeau, RJ Davis, Cormac Ryan, Harrison Ingram, Armando Bacot.

[Feb 3, 2024 at 6:30 pm ET · David Cobb]

Entering off a loss

Duke and North Carolina share the unusual distinction of having lost to Georgia Tech this season. The Yellow Jackets have only won three ACC games but have proven capable of taking down the big boys. Here's the recap of what happened to the Tar Heels in that game, which was the classic trap spot with rival Duke up next on the schedule.

North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech score, takeaways: Yellow Jackets sting Tar Heels before UNC faces Duke

Cameron Salerno

[Feb 3, 2024 at 6:00 pm ET · David Cobb]

Jared McCain thriving for Duke

Duke freshman Jared McCain got a taste of what the rivalry vs. North Carolina was like months before Saturday's marquee top-10 showdown. Shortly after moving cross-country from his home in Southern California to Duke last summer, McCain mistakenly found himself at a Target in Chapel Hill, near the North Carolina campus. McCain took an Uber to the store, and was immediately greeted by a handful of UNC fans who let him know he wasn't where he was supposed to be.

Duke vs. North Carolina: Blue Devils freshman Jared McCain ready for rivalry after he was target of UNC fans

Cameron Salerno

[Feb 3, 2024 at 5:15 pm ET · Jerry Palm]

Duke vs. North Carolina Bracketology

North Carolina remains on the top line of the updated Bracketology NCAA Tournament bracket, still as the fourth overall seed. Kansas has a pretty similar resume, but the quality of the Tar Heels' wins and losses are still slightly better than those of the Jayhawks. Both will get big tests Saturday as Kansas hosts Houston and North Carolina visits Duke.

Bracketology: North Carolina edges Kansas for a No. 1 seed in projected NCAA Tournament bracket

Jerry Palm

[Feb 3, 2024 at 4:30 pm ET · David Cobb]

Duke vs. North Carolina prediction

There is plenty of familiarity on both sides as RJ Davis leads the Tar Heels into this matchup while enjoying the best season of his four-year career. He and interior sidekick Armando Bacot have been through their share of battles against Duke. With their leadership, UNC should win this game on its home floor. But the Blue Devils counter with the grizzled warrior of their own in senior guard Jeremy Roach. They also have a cast of ultra-talented freshmen, led by Jared McCain, and sophomores with the capacity for offensive fireworks. Look for Duke to keep this one tight and at least have a shot at the upset. Prediction: Duke +4

[Feb 3, 2024 at 3:35 pm ET · David Cobb]

Duke vs. North Carolina preview

The simultaneous strength of Duke and North Carolina raises the level of intrigue on a matchup that is always hotly contested. At 16-4 (7-2 ACC), the Blue Devils have won 11 of their last 12 since falling in their ACC opener at Georgia Tech on Dec. 2. North Carolina also lost to Georgia Tech, which upset UNC on Wednesday to end the Tar Heels' winning streak at 10 games. The loss stopped North Carolina's run as the last power conference team still unbeaten against league foes. But the Tar Heels remain undefeated at home and can push their edge in the ACC standings back to two with a win.